On the way to Cocoyasi Village.
Relying on a sea chart, Mark drifted across the sea for about three days.
However, since he was not a navigator, he was completely lost when it came to directions at sea.
Fortunately, Daisy had spent more than a year drifting across the sea while investigating Donquixote Doflamingo. She was fairly familiar with Log Poses and sea charts, so they made their way toward Cocoyasi Village without much trouble.
"Daisy... dinner's ready!" Mark had an apron tied around his waist. He held a spatula in one hand and a plate in the other, using the spatula to place the beef, seared golden-brown on both sides, from the griddle onto the plate.
Since the sailboat was crude, the cabin was tiny, barely enough to divide into two small rooms.
One was used as a kitchen. As for the other, since Mark and Daisy had always lived together in the same room, Daisy said she did not mind.
And now that Mark had developed some resistance to Daisy's charm, nothing would happen from living together that was beyond his control...
Hearing Mark's call, Daisy emerged from the room wearing bear pajamas, rubbing her sleepy eyes. After entering the kitchen—
The moment Daisy saw the delicious food Mark had prepared, little stars seemed to pop into her eyes. She reached straight for the jelly pudding on the table.
Smack!
Mark slapped her little hand away and said irritably, "Wash your hands before you eat!"
"Okay!" Daisy puffed out her cheeks and went to wash her hands with obvious reluctance.
"Seriously, after a year, you've gotten a lot prettier, but how did you pick up such an unhygienic habit..." Mark placed two slices of bread onto the griddle and began frying them in butter, still harping on Daisy's habit of eating without washing her hands.
As Daisy washed her hands, Mark's remark about her becoming prettier immediately perked her up. A faint smile spread across her little face.
But when she heard him call her unhygienic, she immediately retorted, "You're the unhygienic one. My hands are so clean..."
"You can't see bacteria..."
"I'm a repair person. I'm not afraid of them!"
"..."
Mark could not argue with Daisy, but he absolutely would not allow her to eat without washing her hands. Otherwise, she could forget about eating the food he made.
Daisy could only agree. When she returned, she saw Mark had arranged the food perfectly neatly. Even the two pieces of meat were flawless circles without the slightest edge, and the amount of soup in the two bowls was eerily identical.
"A year apart, and your obsessive-compulsive disorder has only gotten worse..." Daisy muttered softly as she pulled out the neatly positioned chair and sat down.
Mark took a sip of corn porridge and frowned. "What did you say?"
Daisy put the jelly pudding into her mouth and mumbled, "I said you've gotten more handsome again..."
"Really? I think so too." Mark readily agreed.
"If the markings on the sea chart are correct, this should be the Cocoyasi Village we're looking for..." Daisy held the sea chart and pointed at a spot on it.
"And we're here right now!" As she spoke, she pointed to a nearby location not far from Cocoyasi Village.
"Clode Town?" Mark looked at the marked location on the chart, then followed the route Daisy indicated toward Cocoyasi Village. "If we head to Cocoyasi Village now, how long will it take?"
"At the slowest, a day and a night. At the fastest, one day!" Daisy answered confidently.
Clode Town was the closest town to Cocoyasi Village, an independent settlement located on a small island.
"Even though we're close now, our supplies... don't seem to be enough." After Daisy put away the chart, Mark looked at the ingredients in the cabin.
Mark was the ship's cook, so he knew exactly how their ingredients had been allocated.
Daisy said it would take at least a day, but the supplies on their ship were clearly not enough to keep the two of them going for a full day.
He did not mind going hungry, but as far as Mark was concerned, letting his companion go hungry was absolutely unacceptable—especially when that companion was Daisy.
"Anyway, there's no rush. Let that bastard live a little longer. Turn toward Clode Town..."
Thinking of that Marine, the scene that appeared in his dreams every moment flashed through his mind again, and waves of killing intent surged within Mark's heart.
"Then let's go to Clode Town and replenish our supplies first!" Daisy took Mark's right hand and spoke softly.
She knew the hatred in Mark's heart. Whenever he mentioned that man, the restrained killing intent on his face made her feel awful.
"Okay!" Mark's voice was somewhat hoarse. The warmth in his hand pulled him back to reality, and his right hand gripping Daisy's tightened unconsciously.
With Mark's broad palm tightly holding hers, a faint blush flashed across Daisy's face. She secretly glanced at Mark, and after seeing that he had not noticed, hurriedly calmed her restless heart.
Clode Town was about the same size as Moss Town.
Since it was daytime, there were quite a few townspeople out and about.
Children playing in the streets, cattle farmers feeding cows in the sheds, fruit stall owners skillfully picking ripe fruit.
These people made up Clode Town.
Looking at the scene before him, both familiar and unfamiliar, Mark could not help thinking of Moss Town.
"It really is so similar!" Although he had only been gone for a little over three days, he could not help feeling nostalgic.
After all, that was where he had lived for more than ten years.
At this moment, Daisy was also looking at everything before her with nostalgic eyes.
After the two stood outside town for a long time—
"Let's go," Mark said softly.
"Mm!" Daisy responded.
They had brought around ten million Beli with them.
That was enough to purchase supplies for one or two years of luxurious living. It included the money Mark had earned working for Gaban—though after more than ten years, he had only saved two hundred thousand—as well as the living expenses Gaban had given Daisy: 11.32 million Beli, practically every last bit of his savings.
With so much money being spent, their supply shopping went smoothly. After all, ten million Beli was enough for an ordinary person to live on for more than ten years, perhaps even twenty, if spent on regular food.
Especially in East Blue, where supplies were even cheaper.
However, their extravagant shopping spree—Daisy bought whatever caught her eye, since she was the one with the money—caught the attention of certain interested people.
The Boar Slaughterhouse west of Clode Town, the headquarters of one of East Blue's great pirates, White Ghost Swordsman Pock—
"You piss on your own shoes, you upside-down bastard who can fire a cannon one-handed in three seconds. A worthless piece of trash like you would make Bion the gorilla very interested in your asshole. Once I get out, I'll make sure Bion knows you exist, then I'll show you what it means to have peach blossoms blooming everywhere."
Pock glared grimly at the Golden Eagle inside the cage.
"You damned stupid bird, that mouth of yours is filthy. Once I figure out the secret behind your ability to generate electricity, I'll pluck out your feathers one by one, roast you alive, and turn you into a delicious whole roasted bird."
The eagle in the cage was enormous, standing nearly a meter tall. Its bright golden feathers were exceptionally magnificent.
With its wings spread, it was nearly three meters wide, and its eagle eyes shone brightly.
Yet it could actually speak, which was utterly unbelievable.